Key holder and selector



D. C. RICCI KEY HOLDER AND SELECTOR June 10, 1958 Filed July 19, 1954 INVENTOR, DOMINGO C.

' BY 1 W,

QICCI' United States Patent KEY HOLDER AND SELECTOR Domingo C. Ricci, Buenos Aires, Argentina Application July 19, 1954, Serial No. 444,289

Claims. c1. 70-456) The present invention relates to improvements in pocket key-holders for keys to be used with locks of the Yale type or the like.

The main and basic object pursued by this invention resides in providing a keyholder from which it is possible to separate the desired key from the rest without having to use the eyes, that is to say, a keyholder from which a key may be chosen in daylight or in complete darkness without having to look.

Another object of the invention is to provide a keyholder which permits the desired results to be obtained efficiently and by means of a very quick and rapid operation.

Another of the purposes resides in providing a keyholder of simple construction, of reduced weight and few number of parts.

With all this, it will be readily understood that what is sought is to avoid the inconveniences caused by ordinary keyholders when trying to open a door or a lock, particularly in the dark.

These and other purposes which will become evident further on, have been put into a practical form with the improvements whichjconstitute the objects of this invention, which are characterized in that the keyholder comprises a key support for the keys, capable of allowing rotation of the keys thereon, mounted on a support which has an arm extending parallel to said key support, at a distance thereof, which provides a stop for the rotating movement of the keys around said key support, a slide displaceable along said arm, between two limit positions, a first stop for the keys which is fixed regarding the limit positions of said slide, a second stop for retaining the keys on said key support, said slide having a stop projection for one key, adapted to stop said key at a distance from said arm, and including cooperating locking means in said slide and arm, for locking the slide in predetermined positions regarding the first stop.

With a view to facilitating the understanding of this invention and for greater clarity of same, it has been illustrated in various figures according to some of its preferred features, all by way of example, in which:

Figure 1 is a frontal View of the keyholder with parts in section;

Figure 2 is a lateral view;

Figure 3 is a lateral view, showing the keyholder in operation;

Figures 4 and 5 are two partial views similar to Figure 1 showing two modifications of said keyholder;

Figures 6 and 7 are different views showing another modification of the keyholder; and

Figure 8 is a view of still another modification of said keyholder.

In the different figures the same reference characters indicate same parts or elements.

According to what has been illustrated in Figures 1 to 5, the keyholder of the present invention consists of a key support or sleeve a for the keys b having one of its ends fixed to a support c which has a lateral arm d 2 extended parallel and at a distance from the sleeve a, with a slide e.

The member .a is cylindrical so as to permit rotation of the keys b therearound, and the member a fits in a perforation 2 of thesupport member 0 to which it remains immovably fixed. This perforation which extends through the support 0 is positioned in the center of a stub or body portion 3 which defines a first stop member c, for the keys b on the sleeve a. Coacting with the first stop 0 is-a second stop a, and the second stop a may include a head 5 of a rod 4 which extends through said sleeve a. The other end 1 of the rod 4 has its free end 4" arranged in threaded engagement with a lock nut 6 which secures the rod to the sleeve in order to prevent its disassembly. This second stop a keeps the keys locked on the member a and prevents accidental displacement.

A slide 2 includes a piece or casing 7 which has an opening 7 through which it is connected to the arm d, and rotation of the slide on the arm is prevented. The piece 7 also has a stop appendix or projection 8 for the keys, and there is further provided a ring 9 for joining the keyholder to a chain, ribbon or the like.

The slide e is displaceable along the arm d between two limit positions, that is, an initial position'in which it abuts against the support c to thereby remain positioned on one side of the keys linked on the sleeve a, with its projection 8 pointing to the body portion 3 of the support. There is a final position in which the slide abuts against the head 10 on the free end of the arm to provide a stop for the slide.

The slide e may also be positioned in intermediate positions in each of which, and in the final position, the projection 8 remains pointing to one of the keys b on the sleeve a. In order to determine these positions by means of the sense of touch when the slide e moves along the arm at without seeing the keyholder, there is provided cooperating locking means which comprises a small ball 11 positioned in a perforation 7" of the body of the slide e, and a spring 12 biasing the ball to engage a side of the arm which has a plurality of notches 13 which may be marked N, l, 2, 3, 4, 5 and the like. Each of the notches determines one of the positions of the slide including the limit positions which correspond to the notches.

With a view to establishing certain separations between the keys b for a reason to be later described, a plurality of separating disks 14 are interposed between adjacent keys b. a

It should be noted that other forms of the key support may be substituted for the sleeve a, Figures 4 and 5 showing two modifications. In the modification of Figure 4, the key support includes a member 15, one end of which is in threaded engagement in the perforation of body portion 3'. A lock nut 16 is screwed on the threaded portion of member 15 extending through portion 3. At the other end of member 15 is positioned a head 15' which defines the second stop.

' In the modification of Figure 5, the key support comprises a member 17, one end of which is secured in the perforation of body portion 3", the other end of which has screwed thereon nut 17 which provides the second stop.

To operate the keyholder, the slide e is normally placed contiguous to the notch N, this positionbeing the most convenient when the keyholder is not in use. With the slide e'thus disposed, assume that it is desired to open a lock with a key which is already known to belong to notch 4. Then the following procedure-is followed.. .With the keyholder in. a vertical position as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the slide e is moved along the arm d while being held between the thumb and fore,-

finger. As the ball 11 passes over each notch 13 a slight blow is produced which can be easily felt bythe fingers holding the slide and said slight blow produces a sound like a. click. At the fourth click the slide is stopped because it' has arrived at the notch which corresponds to. the desired key to which the projection 8 r mams pointing.

Leaving the slide 2 in said position, the keyholder is held by its second stop a, the head of rod 4, and made to rotate around the axis of key support a, and with this operation the keys remain in a vertical position and the slide e rotates together with the arm d. As a result of this rotation, the stop-appendix or projection 8 pushes on the key corresponding to the notch 4 and separates it from the others such as shown in Figure 3, leaving it in a condition to be easily taken by the other hand. Once the key has been used, the slide'e is returned to its normal vertical position, and the keyholder is ready for a further selective operation.

The separating discs 14 interposed between the keys are provided to eliminate the direct contact between the keys in order to prevent the rotation of the keys which are adjacent to the one which is pushed away from the others by the projection 8 of slide e.

In the keyholder of Figure 1, when the number of keys [2 to be used is less than its maximum capacity, the free portion of key support a is occupied by separators interposed between the second stop and the key near to same.

It should be noted that the manner in which the slide may be locked to the arm may be changed to any other which brings forth the same results.

Figure 6 shows another modification of this invention, according to which the keyholder comprises a U-shaped member 19, the intermediate portion d thereof forming the arm on which is mounted the slide 2; the key support is formed by a member 20 which extends through a. perforation of the free end of one arm 19" of said member 19, and is screwed in the other of them; in this case the stops for the keys are defined by said free ends of arms 19".

In order to permit its mounting on the arm, the slide e has its appendix 8' divided into two parts by a cut which extends up to the perforation through which the arm d extends. For mounting the slide e on arm d, these two parts 8" of the projection 8 must be separated, forming a fork, so that by inserting the arm between these parts up to the perforation 7", the latter will open. Then by pressing the two parts 8 together, the slide will be mounted on the arm, ready for operation. The'spring 1 2 and ball 11 must be disposed in the perforation corresponding to 7" previous to the insertion of arm d between said two parts 8" of projection 8'.

In order to prevent the accidental disengagement of any threaded members, there may be provided a lock-nut or a ring of rubber or nylon fixed into the perforation in which said threaded member is screwed.

Figure 8 shows another modification of the invention, according to which the keyholder comprises a U-shaped member 21, one of the arms 21' thereof forming the arm d" and the other constituting the key support, each with a nut 22 and 23, respectively, screwed on its free end, forming stops for the slide e" and keys, respectively.

Undoubtedly when this invention will be put into practice, some modifications can be introduced regarding certain construction details and shape of the invented keyholder, provided same are in accordance with the fundamental principles which are clearly set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

' 1. In a keyholder, a support member provided with a perforation and including a body portion defininga first stop member, a sleeve extending from said body portion, a plurality of keys rotatably mounted on said sleeve, 21 second stop member arranged in spaced parallel relation with respect to said first stop member, a slide including a casing provided with an opening therein, an arm extending from said support member and projecting through said opening, said slide being mounted for movement along said arm, a projection extending from said casing and extending toward said sleeve, locking means comprising a ball positioned in said slide, resilient means arranged in engagement with said ball, there being a plurality of notches in said arm for engagement by said ball, and disks interposed between said keys.

2. In a keyholder, a support member provided with a perforation and including a body portion defining a first stop member, a sleeve extending from said body portion, a plurality of keys rotatably mounted on said sleeve, a rod extending through said sleeve and having a second stop member thereon, and a lock nut arranged in engagement with said rod, a slide including a casing provided with an opening therein, an arm extending from said support member and projecting through said opening, said slide being mounted for movement along said arm, a projection extending from said casing and extending toward said sleeve, locking means comprising a ball positioned in said slide, resilient means arrange-i in engagement with said ball, there being a plurality of notches in said arm for engagement by said ball, and disks interposed between said keys.

3. In a key holder, a support member provided with a perforation and including a body portion defining a first stop member, a sleeve extending from said body portion, a plurality of keys rotatably mounted on said sleeve, a rod extending through said sleeve and having a second stop member thereon, and a lock nut arranged in engage ment with said rod, a slide including a casing provided with an opening therein, an arm extending from said support member and projecting through said opening,

said slide being mounted for movement along said arm, a projection extending from said casing and extending toward said sleeve, locking means comprising a ball positioned in said slide, resilient means arranged in engagement with said ball, there being a plurality of notches in said arm for engagement by said ball, and disks interposed between said keys, said resilient means comprising a coil spring.

4. A key and holder combination comprising a support member provided with a body portion defining a first stop member, a key support projecting from said first stop member, the end of said key support remote from said first stop member being provided with a second stop member, a plurality of keys havin eccentrically positioned holes rotatably mounted on said key support with said key support projecting through the holes in said keys, separators filling any space which may exist between the keys and said stop members, said support member being provided with an arm projecting from the end of said body portion remote from said first stop member and extending in a direction parallel to said key support and a member positionable on said arm in a plurality of positions along the length thereof said member being provided with a projection extending toward said key support and acting as a stop to prevent free rotation of one of the keys mounted on said key support.

.5. A key and holder combination as recited in claim 4 in'which said arm is notched along its length and said member is constituted .by a slide, said slide being provided with means engageable with said notches to position said slide along the length of said arm.

References (Iited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,602,320 Lane July 8, 1952 2,634,599 Nicholson Apr. 14, 1953 2,645,113 Olsen July 14, 1953 2,695,511 Wing et al Nov. 30, 1954 

